Still No Agreement on a New Contract at Central Maine Power

Members of the Union Negotiating Team at meeting in Gardiner on May 20, 2009.

August 24, 2009 - The IBEW Local 1837 Negotiating Committee and Central Maine Power Co. Negotiating Committee met last week on August 19 and 20 with a Federal Mediator participating in the talks. On August 20 the Union Negotiating Committee gave the Company representatives a counter-proposal to their offer from the previous day. CMP did not take long to review the proposal before returning with the exact offer they presented the day before. (The Company’s proposal may be viewed in the "Members Only" section of this website under the heading "CMP Negotiations.")

Meanwhile, CMP President Sara Burns continues her efforts to market the Company’s offer to IBEW 1837’s membership. In another Company-wide email on August 21, Ms. Burns continued to assert that CMP is trying to find “a balance between appropriate total compensation for our employees and maintaining affordable rates for our customers.” The Union Negotiating Team is confident that their proposals will not have a significant impact on the ratepayers or on CMP’s profits - $55 million in the last year alone.

CMP claims they are at the point that they have gone as far as they can go. The Union committee feels their newest final offer in still inadequate. CMP’s offer seems to be indicative of how the Company really feels about their workforce and seems to be in line with what is going on at other Energy East Companies:

  • Rochester Gas and Electric employees have been working without a contract for nearly 15 months with an authorization to call a strike.
  • Berkshire Gas is working under a contract extension with 60 days notice to call a strike.
  • Southern Connecticut Gas will be starting negotiations in October, with a November 30 expiration date.
  • Southern Gas has a labor contract expiration in the spring.
  • New York State Electric and Gas (NYSEG) also has a late spring labor contract expiration.

 At the present time, the Union Negotiating Committee is considering all of its options for the future as our members continue to work without a contract. The IBEW 1837 team intends to schedule an informational meeting soon to update the Union membership on the negotiations.